The agency is concerned that Russian whistleblower Yulia Stepanova won’t be allowed to compete in Rio after “courageously exposing the single biggest doping scandal of all time”.
Advertisement
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) will delegate power to individual sports’ governing bodies to decide if Russian athletes are clean and should be allowed to take part in the respective 2016 Olympics events.
In June, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) banned the Russian track and field team from competing in this year’s Olympic Games, which begin on 5 August.
IOC President Thomas Bach explained in a conference call, “The IOC Executive Board today had to take a very hard decision with regards to the timing and the content because as you know the qualification and entry procedure for Rio is well under way the first athletes are already in the Olympic Village”.
It was carried out under the direction of the country’s sports authorities to cover up doping.
The federations should “carry out an individual analysis of each athlete’s anti-doping record, taking into account only reliable adequate worldwide tests, and the specificities of the athlete’s sport and its rules, in order to ensure a level playing field”, the IOC said. It insisted that “the “presumption of innocence” can not be applied to them”.
“An athlete should not suffer and should not be sanctioned for a system in which he was not implicated”, Bach told reporters on a conference call after Sunday’s meeting. “This is about doing justice to clean athletes all over the world”.
“I think there needs to be a movement that’s started in that every time a clean athlete is on the dais with a Russian athlete, they’ll accept the medal but they actually need to stand on the ground.to be able to say to the International Olympic Committee ‘hey we’re not happy with what you’re doing, ‘” Burmester told ONE News.
A World Anti Doping Agency (WADA) report released last week claimed a complex conspiracy by Russia’s security services working to tamper with and change sealed urine samples from its athletes.
In Moscow Sunday, Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko voiced relief that the International Olympic Committee did not impose the countrywide ban called for last week by the World Anti-Doping Association in a wide-ranging report spawned by a Russian whistleblower.
“Disappointingly, however, in response to the most important moment for clean athletes and the integrity of the Olympic Games, the IOC has refused to take decisive leadership”.
The IOC said Stepanova, now living in the United States, did not meet the criteria for running under the IOC flag and, because she had committed doping violations, did not satisfy the “ethical requirements” to compete in the games.
Usada chief Travis Tygart called the decision “incomprehensible”, adding it will “undoubtedly deter whistleblowers in the future from coming forward”.
The Russian sports minister says that “the majority” of Russia’s team complies with International Olympic Committee criteria on doping and will be able to compete in Rio.
Bach stressed on Sunday that Russian competitors have to pass an extremely rigorous set of criteria before being cleared for the Rio Games.
“Many global federations will have neither the time nor capacity to make the quick and clear decisions necessary let alone do it in a consistent way”, Mr Steel added.
Advertisement
I hope our Russian national team – and they are training – will perform well at the Olympics.
